Fugitive nabbed, allegedly cut off ankle device

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—Authorities say a fugitive who cut off his ankle monitoring device and mailed it back to the Santa Barbara County Jail has been apprehended.

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Kelly Hoover said in a statement Monday that 56-year-old Steven Kunes was arrested Sunday at a Carpinteria restaurant after a patron recognized him from a mugshot on the department's Facebook page.

Kunes, a Pennsylvania resident who has also lived in Montecito in Santa Barbara County, was released from the county jail last August with an electronic monitoring device attached to his ankle. Three weeks later, the device sent out an alert that it had been improperly removed and an arrest warrant was issued.

Hoover says Kunes has a record for grand theft, forgery and commercial burglary.